CWA # 2076
CW Column: Africa This Week
Three years of War in Sudan, DRC-M23 talks in Switzerland and the collapse of the peace agreement in Tigray
In Ethiopia, the latest developments point to a high risk of the collapse of the 2022 peace agreement and resumption of full-scale violence in Tigray. In Sudan, the war has been prolonged for three years primarily because of the abundant weapon suppl
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Anu Maria Joseph
24 April 2026
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What happened this week?
1. Sudan
15 April marked three years of the civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On 14 April, international leaders held a conference in Berlin on the third anniversary of the civil war and pledged USD 1.5 billion for humanitarian aid. At the meeting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called three years of war a "tragic milestone in a conflict that has shattered a country of immense promise." He said: "The nightmare must end." The African Union (AU) chairman, Mahmoud Ali Youssou, stated: "We know the magnitude of the crimes committed. We know the level of destruction in this country."
2. DR Congo
On 19 April, Al Jazeera reported that the Congolese government and the M23 rebels have agreed to ease aid deliveries and the release of prisoners. The move was announced in a joint statement by the US Department of State, following the talks in Switzerland the previous week. The statement read: “The parties agreed to refrain from any action that would undermine the principled delivery of humanitarian assistance within the territories impacted by the conflict."
The statement also added that both sides signed a MoU for a ceasefire monitoring mechanism to “begin conducting surveillance, monitoring, verification, and reporting on the implementation of the permanent ceasefire between the parties."
3. Ethiopia
On 19 April, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia announced that it is taking back control of the Tigray administration, ending the 2022 peace deal signed with the Ethiopian federal government. TPLF stated via Facebook: It “has decided to reinstate the Tigray Government Assembly (parliament), which had been suspended in the name of peace.”
What are the issues?
1. Sudan: A prolonged war, battlefield shifts, failed mediations and regional spill over
The war, which started as a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF, has lasted for three years. Although initially concentrated in Khartoum, the war has now shifted to Kordofan and Darfur states. It has now divided the country into the West and East, with Western states under the control of the RSF and eastern states, along with Khartoum under the SAF. Besides, the RSF has started a parallel government in the West with Darfur as the centre.
Multiple ceasefire efforts and international peace initiatives have failed; most recently, the Nairobi Declaration in December 2025 and the Quad proposal in September 2025. The failure is attributed to two major reasons. First, the abundant supply of weapons from external actors. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Turkey and Iran have been supporting SAF with weapons. Meanwhile, the UAE and Iran have been allegedly supporting the RSF with weapons. Secondly, due to a lack of commitment and compliance from the warring sides, amidst fear of losing the title of legitimate authority of Sudan.
Most recently, the war has spilt along the Sudan-Chad border town of Tine. Since February, there has been a series of violent clashes between the RSF and the SAF-linked militias in the Tine town along the Sudan-Chad border. It killed over 30 people.
2. DR Congo: The talks in Switzerland, continuing violence and a questioned peace deal
The latest round of talks in Switzerland included representatives from Qatar, the US, the AU and Togo. The peace monitoring mechanism, agreed by warring sides, aims to track humanitarian and security developments and monitor potential ceasefire violations.
However, the situation on the ground is very fragile. Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement and carrying out attacks despite the US-led peace agreement in December 2025. Most recently, three people were killed in a drone strike in Goma, a region under the control of M23. The US-mediated peace deal was expected to lay the ground for an end to violence. However, the deal was criticised for many reasons. First, the deal lacked inclusivity; M23, the major actor in the conflict, was not a signatory to the agreement. Second, the deal displayed a transactional character when Trump involved the US's mineral interests in the bargaining and deviated from a genuine interest in resolving the conflict. Third, the deal discusses an end to hostilities, disarmament and disengagement of the rebel groups, and a regional economic integration. However, the deal does not discuss resolving the decades-long root causes behind the complex conflict in eastern DRC. Ultimately, the deal reflected a US geopolitical manoeuvre that served Trump's global peace pursuits.
3. Ethiopia: The Tigray problem and the fragile peace deal
Ethiopia's Tigray problem between the federal government and Tigrayans has been ongoing since 2021. The one-year conflict between the TPLF and the federal forces during 2021-2022 killed more than 600,000 people. The violence ended with the November 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement. However, the conflict continued. Despite the agreement, Tigray remained fragile due to several disagreements, the lack of full implementation of the peace agreement and post-agreement instances of violence. Only half of the 2.1 million IDPs have returned.
Meanwhile, the post-agreement initiatives of the Abiy administration triggered ethnic violence across other regions, including Amhara and Oromia. The skirmishes began after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed demanded all ethnic militias, including Amhara’s Fano militia, Tigray’s TPLF and Oromo’s Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), to be integrated into the Ethiopian federal force following the Tigray peace agreement. During early 2025, internal divisions within the TPLF were reported regarding the interim administration of Tigray, which led to a brief instance of violence in Mekelle in March 2025.
Since January, after a long lull in violence, Tensions started simmering in Tigray following the clashes between the TPLF and the federal forces in Tsemlet. The renewed clashes and tensions also arise ahead of the June general elections and threaten the peace deal
What does it mean?
In Sudan, the war has been prolonged for three years primarily because of the abundant weapon supply from the external actors. Both sides appear to have no intention of putting an end to the violence. The war is likely to continue at the same pace, characterised by territorial advances, waves of violence and a humanitarian cost.
In DR Congo, while the outcomes of the conference in Switzerland point to a positive development, the on-ground situation, characterised by ceasefire violations and instances of violence, implies that the peace initiatives are fragile. DRC is likely to witness another wave of intense violence with another trigger.
In Ethiopia, the latest developments point to a high risk of the collapse of the 2022 peace agreement and resumption of full-scale violence in Tigray.
About the author
Ms Anu Maria Joseph was a NIAS Project Associate and served as Assistant Editor, Conflict Weekly.
